Brand Marketers Embrace Social Media

If you perform a Google search on any big company’s name with the word Facebook at the end, chances are the top result will be the company’s own official Facebook page. The same goes for Twitter and YouTube. CocaCola and Pepsi, Apple and Microsoft, Target and Walmart—they all have a presence on some social media platform.

Last week we reported on the recent statistics highlighting the social media revolution. The Internet was buzzing about the future of social media, media marketing, and how businesses can use social media to their advantage. This week, the results from a survey were released, detailing even further just how much social media has affected business and brand marketing. Within the next year, an astonishing 82 percent of brand marketers will be using social media to promote their brand, said Equation Research’s2009 Marketing Industry Trends Report.

Now more than ever, it is
essential to have a handle on social media. Not every platform needs to
be explored, however. It’s about efficiently using your time while
creating the most impact. Currently, many brands struggle with engaging
users once the space is established. While the Equation report listed
some great stats about social media, it also said that 37 percent of brands don’t know enough about social media to know where to begin.

Social media connects businesses to customers and clients in a unique way, engages them in meaningful
conversation, and opens doors to options that couldn’t have been
explored just a few years ago. One of the biggest doors social media
has opened is the ability for businesses to promote social causes and
missions, and the emerging trend of social entrepreneurship.
Uniting users through a cause built around your brand is incredibly
valuable–as it engages them on a high, meaningful level. Through this,
the communication can make an impact and also send a message to
customers that the company is interested in more than just making a
profit.

Here are just a few examples of how social media is leading the way for social good:

Target:
For years, the company allocated a certain percent of their profits to
charities chosen by the company. This past year, Target announced that
they were handing the power of giving to the people.
For two weeks, Target opened a poll on its Facebook fan page allowing
users to vote for the charity of their choice. At the end of the voting
period, the company split up...